Iron County register. [volume] (Ironton, Iron County, Mo.) 1867-1965, 1887-01-13
THE BLACK BEAR.
a Idrly Beast That Is Much Less Danger
Gus Than Most SportsInen Claim.

q Bdrly Beast That Is Much Less Danger
i Gus Than Most sportsInen Claim.
=; There have been told so many stories
about the terrible ferocity of the COM
mon black bear and the great danger
! attendant upon huntingt he ''varmint'
! that 1 can not help thinking that a few
/ facts regarding this animal would be
acceptable to your readers. The kind
of bears that inhabit New York, Chicago,
and other large cities and are hunted
! Con paper) by fancy sportsmen may be
awfully savage beasts, but the black
| bear of Arkansas and the Southwest
! generally is, as is well known to all old
| hunters, the most timid and cowardly
! brute, in proportion to his size and
strength, that roams the woods. In an
| experience covering many years OF
! still-hunting in country where
| 1.-The woods are full of 'em," ]
have never seen but two bears
| that were not either on dead run to
get away or were being bayed or freed
by dogs. One of these was ''lapping''
| in the early spring.. e., up a tree
gathering and eating the buds and ten
der shoots. The other was turning over
and tearing to pieces an old log to gel
the worms and bugs to be found in the
| rotten wood, for, be it known, even
| "ursa major does not disdain to break.
fast on grubs and angle-worms when
fat shoats and wild honey get scarce.
In fact, he will eat almost any thing,
animal or vegetable, fresh or putrid,
that Il hog will eat, but the hog, if a
male and half wild, is by far the more
dangerous beast of the two; for the
hog, if irritated by dogs, will boldly at
tack man or beast, and fight desperate
y to the death, but Mr.. Bear on such
occasions devotes all his energies to the
effort to get away, and will show fight
only when hemmed and abso-
lutely driven to the wall. This
is my own experience, and it is also that
of every other old bear-hunter with
whom l have ever talked. have yet
to hear of an authenticated instance i'll
this country ARKANSAS of a ben
voluntarily attacking Il man. Thei1
senses of hearing and smell are so acute
and their instructive fear of man sc
great that the hunter rarely ever gets
even a sight of one III the woods except
when bayed, freed or engaged in a run.
| ming fight with dogs. Unless the bea1
is very fat it takes first-class pack OF
well-trained dogs to stop him and keep
him in one place long enough for the
hunter to get up within shooting di s.
lance On the other hand, if he is very
fat he is apt to be too short-winded tc
run far, and almost any common cur or
fee that has speed enough to keep uE
and grit enough to nip him on the hams
occasionally can soon put him up
tree.
''Cuh'ee." as he is Familiarity known
here, is also very fond of green corn,
and in the latter part of July, when
roasting-ears are in season, he takes his
toll from adjacent corn-tields without
stint. He usually tears down and de-
stroys n great deal more than he can
eat, and for this reason the farmers
frequently lie in wait for him. He al
ways comes at night and has a particrl-
lar place to enter and another at which
to leave the field. These are easily as
certained by his tracks, and the plan is
to 90 out about nine p. m. on Il night
when there is little or no wind stirring,
sit down in the corn near the usual
place of entrance, and wait until
he comes in and gets close enough
to see him plainly; then shoot.
1t is rarely worth while to wait
longer than twelve o'clock. for if cuffee
is not there by midnight it is pretty
certain that he has gone to some other
field. In fact, this is the principal diff
Guilty about killing bears in this way,
for bruin is quite cunning, and rarely
visits the same field twice in succession,
so that unless the cornfields are few
and the bears in the ghborhoOd very
numerous the lonely watcher may have
to wait a number of nights for shot.
l say lonely watcher because it is al
most absolutely necessary to be alone.
If the wait happens to be long one
two persons can not keep from talking,
and bear carries his cars about to
hear with and not for ornament. Be
sides. the probability of being winded
always the weak point in this style
of hunting-is doubled, and the chances
Tor Il SnOI ulinlnlSneu CORRESPONDENCE.
SO little is cuffee feared by those who
are familiar with him that I have
known boys of eighteen years. armed
with no better weapon than q small
bore muzzle-loading squirrel rifle, to sit
in the dark for hours, alone and half
mile or more from the house, waiting
for shot, and then. when the chance
came, to sit still as death until the bear
got within eight or ten feet before firing.
When the shot is fired the bear, unless
instantly killed-a rare occurance-
makes a break for the fence. and not
stopping to climb over it, goes through
it ike a stampeded bull, scattering rails
right and left. and runs until he falls ex-
haEsted. Next morning the shooter
takes his dogs to the spot, puts them
off the track, and is soon in possession
of & dead bear or engaged in lively
fight with a wounded one.-Arkdnsds
Coz. american Field.
Fishing for Teeth.
I j IL. L L.